Transport trailer with deployable corral

ABSTRACT

A deployable corral system for a transport trailer, such as a livestock trailer, provides a readily deployable corral along the trailer, and is readily stowable along the trailer in a retracted configuration for travel. The corral includes a pair of spaced-apart and extendable corral rails with a cross-rail extending between distal ends of the extendable corral rails. When the extendable corral rails are extended the cross-rail is spaced from an exterior side of the livestock trailer, and when the extendable corral rails are retracted the cross-rail is positioned near a roof of the trailer. The extendable corral rails move between the extended and retracted positions manually, or automatically with a drive system. Optionally, the drive system is powered by motors associated with linear or rotary actuators. Further options may include storage bins along the cross-rail, a deployable shade awning, a deployable trough, jack stands, securing flaps, and position sensors.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 15/689,660, filed Aug. 29, 2017, which claims thefiling benefit of U.S. provisional application, Ser. No. 62/381,347,filed Aug. 30, 2016, which are both hereby incorporated herein byreference in their entireties.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to livestock and transport trailers andportable corral fencing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Those who move livestock, goods, or materials over-the-road from onelocation to another, for reason of work, hobby or show, typically do sousing towable trailers especially designed for this purpose. Forpurposes of discussion, horses as a form of livestock will be referencedthroughout the present application because they are a common livestockanimal that is carried in over-the-road trailers, such as behind pickuptrucks, vans, and other towing vehicles, but it will be appreciated thathorses are intended to represent substantially any animal that istransported by trailer and should be provided with more moving spaceand/or outdoor time each day.

Typical horse trailers have provisions to accommodate one or more horsesin a main compartment, as well as saddles, bridles, blankets and otherhorse-related equipment known generally as “tack”. In addition, whenhorses are being transported over longer distances and for a period ofseveral days, hay, water, and bedding (e.g., wood shavings) are alsocarried in the trailer or the tow vehicle. Some known horse trailershave a designated roof top area where several bales of hay can bestored.

After a day of travel it is necessary or desirable, for the safety andwellbeing of the horses, to unload them from the confines of thetrailer's interior and provide them with an area where they can be freeto move about in the open air. Although one option for traveling horsehandlers is to identify and rent a horse boarding facility for overnightaccommodations, it is not uncommon for a horse handler to carry portablesections of steel fencing, such as in the back of the tow vehicle orstrapped to the side of the trailer, in order to construct a temporarymakeshift corral or pen. For example, handlers may generally carry asufficient quantity of fencing to erect their own ten to twelve footdiameter corral at a temporary site along their travel route. Theprocess of loading, unloading, erecting, disassembling, and storingthese corral fences is laborious and time consuming, and can beprohibitive for horse handlers of smaller stature or those with certainphysical limitations or disabilities. Once at a destination such as awork site, a fair or a showing event where the horses will betemporarily corralled for several days, this difficult process must berepeated to return the livestock to their home quarters.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides, in its various forms, a transporttrailer with an integrated and deployable corral that creates afenced-in space outside the trailer, such as for animals or even forsales personnel to have a walking space, and which optionally includesstorage for feed, bedding materials, tools, water, display goods orother vendor displays, equipment, and the like. The integrated corralsystem can be deployed and retracted manually or automatically by meansof an onboard hydraulic or electrical power system or the like, whichmay be powered by a rechargeable battery, a combustion engine, or a towvehicle electrical or pneumatic system, for example. The transport orlivestock trailer with integrated corral system can deploy a corral toat least one side or to a rear of the trailer, and can optionallyprovide feed storage, tack storage, and the like, substantially withoutchanging the trailer's dimensions when the corral system is stowed.Optionally, the deployable corral system provides simplified push-buttondeployment and retraction, with heavy lifting and stowing handled by thedeployment mechanism, which may reduce or eliminate the need for a horsehandler to manually lift bedding, hay, water, and tack substantialvertical distances such as to a rooftop storage area. Optional featuresinclude an integrated and automatically or manually deployable shadecanopy, and an integrated and automatically or manually deployable watertrough that is accessible to animals penned in the corral.

According to one form of the present invention, a deployable corralsystem for a livestock trailer or other type of transport trailerprovides a readily deployable corral along the trailer, and may beintegrated into the trailer to provide one or more self-deploying andself-stowing temporary corrals, such as for overnight or short term useduring travel with horses or other livestock. The corral includes a pairof extendable corral rails with at least one cross-rail extendingbetween distal ends of the extendable rails. When the extendable corralrails are extended, the cross-rail is spaced from an exterior side ofthe trailer, and when the extendable corral rails are retracted thecross-rail is positioned near an upright wall of the trailer.Optionally, a powered drive system moves the extendable corral railsbetween the extended and retracted positions in response to a commandreceived from a user, such as via a pushbutton controller. Optionally,the drive system is powered by motors driving linear or rotaryactuators. Further options include storage bins along the cross-rail,which can be lifted by the powered drive system and positioned atop thetrailer roof for over-the-road transport, as well as a deployable shadeawning and a deployable trough.

In one aspect, proximal end portions of the extendable corral rails arepivotably coupled to a lower region of the trailer at forward andrearward ends of the trailer. The pivots define a substantiallyhorizontal pivot axis of the extendable corral rails, which axis isoriented longitudinally along the lower region of the trailer.

In another aspect, proximal end portions of the extendable corral railsare slidably coupled to a lower region of the trailer at forward andrearward ends of the trailer. The slides define a substantiallyhorizontal path of movement of the extendable corral rails, whichhorizontal path of movement is oriented perpendicular to the uprightwall of the trailer.

In another aspect, distal end portions of the extendable corral railsare telescopically extendable and retractable relative to the respectiveproximal end portions. Optionally, a corral rail extension system isprovided for extending and retracting the distal end portions of theextendable corral rails relative to the proximal end portions thereof.Optionally, the corral rail extension system is part of the deployablecorral system's drive system.

In yet another aspect, the drive system is a pulley and cable system.Optionally, the pulley is configured for mounting at the trailer, andthe cable includes a proximal end wound around the pulley and a distalend attached to a respective one of the extendable corral rails.

In a further aspect, a storage bin is coupled to an outboard side of thecorral cross-rail. In this arrangement, the corral cross-rail and thestorage bin are positioned above the roof panel of the trailer when theextendable corral rails are retracted. Optionally, the storage binincludes a pivotable top lid and a pivotable front panel, wherein thefront panel is pivotable to an open configuration and the front panel isconfigured to maintain a substantially horizontal orientation in theopen configuration.

In yet a further aspect, a storage bin is coupled to an outboard side ofthe corral cross-rail. In this arrangement, the corral cross-rail andthe storage bin are positioned near the upright wall of the trailer whenthe extendable corral rails are retracted. Optionally, the storage binincludes a pivotable top lid and a pivotable front panel, wherein thefront panel is pivotable to an open configuration and the front panel isconfigured to maintain a substantially horizontal orientation in theopen configuration.

In a still further aspect, an upper corral rail is attached to thedistal end portion of each of the extendable corral rails, and ispivotable between a retracted position in which the upper corral rail issubstantially parallel to the corral cross-rail, and an extendedposition in which the upper corral rail is substantially parallel to theextendable corral rails. The upper corral rails have distal end portionsthat are securable to the upright wall of the trailer when the uppercorral rails are in their extended positions.

In still another aspect, the corral cross-rail is pivotably coupled tothe extendable corral rail, and the corral cross-rail is pivotablebetween a retracted configuration in which the corral cross-rail issubstantially perpendicular to the extendable corral rail, and anextended configuration in which the corral cross-rail is set at anobtuse angle relative to the extendable corral rail.

In another aspect, the corral cross-rail pivot utilizes a hinge lockingsystem situated on the exterior side of the pivot relative to theenclosed portion of the corral. The hinge locking system includes anupper and lower arc shaped guide channel, a tracking pin, and opposingpivot plates. The pivot plates are secured to a proximal end of thecorral cross rail and extend axially beyond the pivot. The pivot platesare disposed with one on top of the extendable corral rail distal endand the other on the bottom of the extendable corral rail distal end.The guide channels are disposed between the pivot plates and guide thetracking pin, which is disposed on the extendable corral rails near thedistal end of the extendable corral rail. The tracking pin includes ahole through its center to receive a locking pin. The locking pin isinserted through a hole in the top pivot plate, through the tracking pinhole, and through the bottom pivot plate to lock the corral cross railinto position. Holes may be disposed along the pivot plates and withinthe guide channel to facilitate securing the corral cross rail at anyone of a selection of different angles relative to the extendable corralrail.

According to another aspect, a support leg is pivotably coupled to thedistal end portion of each of the extendable corral rails. The supportlegs extend downwardly when the extendable corral rails are in theirextended positions, and the support legs extend upwardly when theextendable corral rails are in their retracted positions. Optionally, alinkage is coupled to each of the support legs, wherein the linkages areconfigured to pivot each of the support legs relative to the extendablecorral rails in response to the extendable corral rails moving betweenthe extended and retracted positions.

According to another aspect, a support leg is slidably coupled to thedistal end portion of each of the extendable corral rails. The supportlegs extend downwardly when the extendable corral rails are in theirextended positions, and the support legs extend upwardly when theextendable corral rails are in their retracted positions. The supportlegs include multiple adjustment holes and a lock pin configured to lockthe support leg at a desired height by passing through the slide mountand the adjustment holes. Optionally, a support leg is slidably coupledto the distal end portion of each of the corral cross-rails.

According to another form of the present invention, a transport trailerwith deployable corral system includes a plurality of upright walls anda pair of wheels supporting them, a pair of extendable corral rails, acorral cross-rail, and a drive system for moving the extendable corralrails between extended and retracted positions. The extendable corralrails each have respective proximal end portions coupled to one of theupright walls, and distal end portions spaced from the proximal endportions. The corral cross-rail is coupled to the distal end portion ofat least one of the extendable corral rails. When the extendable corralrail is in the extended position, the corral cross-rail is spacedhorizontally away from the upright wall, and when the extendable corralrail is retracted the corral cross-rail is positioned at or above anupper end portion of the upright wall. The extendable corral rails andthe corral cross-rail, in the extended position, cooperate with theupright wall to define a corral area.

In one aspect, a feed or water trough is pivotably coupled to theupright wall, so that the trough is selectively extendable into thecorral area and retractable into the upright wall.

In another aspect, a roof panel is positioned atop the upright walls, astorage bin is coupled to an outboard side of the corral cross-rail, anda fairing is located at a forward end of the roof panel and extendsabove the roof panel. The corral cross-rail and the storage bin arepositioned above the roof panel when the extendable corral rails areretracted, and the fairing is sized and shaped to provide a wind breakfor at least the storage bin and the corral cross-rails when theextendable corral rails are moved to their retracted positions.

In yet another aspect, the upright wall where the extendable corralrails are mounted includes a pair of upright recesses for receiving atleast portions of respective ones of the extendable corral rails intheir retracted positions.

In still another aspect, a roof panel is positioned atop the uprightwalls, and a retractable awning system is provided, the awning system aflexible awning sheet, an end support rod, and a pair of awning supportarms. The awning sheet has a proximal edge configured for attachment tothe roof panel or to the upright wall, and a distal edge that isextendable outwardly from the roof panel and/or the upright wall. Theend support rod is attached to the distal edge of the flexible awningsheet, and the awning support arms have upper end portions coupled tothe end support rod, with lower end portions pivotably coupled torespective extendable corral rails or to the upright wall.

In a still further aspect, a pair of upright recesses are formed in theupright wall where the extendable corral rails are mounted, the recessesfor selectively receiving at least portions of the respective extendablecorral rails in the retracted position, and for selectively receiving atleast portions of the respective awning support arms. Optionally, ahorizontal recess is formed along an upper end portion of the at leastone upright wall, and/or a side edge portion of the roof panel, and/oralong an intersection of the at least one upright wall with the roofpanel. The horizontal recess is configured to receive the end supportrod and at least a portion of the flexible awning sheet when the distaledge of the flexible awning sheet is retracted toward the upright wall.

In a still further aspect, a flap is pivotably mounted to the uprightwall in proximity to a recess for selectively receiving a portion of theextendable corrals in the retracted position. The pivotable flap isconfigured to retain the extendable corral rails in verticalorientations along exterior side panels, so that the piston-cylinders(or other corral rail support structures or mechanisms) are not solelyrelied upon to maintain corrals in their raised and stowed positionsduring transport. The pivotable flap may further include a positionsensor capable of determining if the pivotable flap is in an open orclosed position. The position sensor is configured to communicate theposition of the pivotable flap to a user or to a motor drive to disablethe extension or retraction of the extendable corral rails. Optionally,the pivotable flap includes mounts configured to accept and support theends of the upper corral rails while the corral system is in thedeployed configuration.

In another aspect, the trailer interior defines a livestock mangerincluding at least one stall defined by a trailer floor surface, a chestwall set at an oblique angle relative to one of the upright walls, andan interior sidewall extending rearwardly away from the chest wall, withthe interior sidewall set at another oblique angle relative to thetrailer sidewall. Optionally, the interior sidewall is generallyperpendicular to the chest wall, which cooperates with the trailersidewall to define a storage space accessible from outside the traileror from inside the interior livestock manger.

Therefore, the deployable corral system of the present invention allowsusers to easily provide a corral or enclosed area along the exterior ofa vehicle such as a transport trailer, such as a livestock trailer, acommercial display or vendor trailer, or the like. The corral system canbe actuated between extended and retracted configurations using a drivesystem, such as a powered drive system that requires little more thanpushbutton or remote actuation by an operator. Optional storage bins canbe placed on rails or fence portions of the corral, and lifted by thesystem to an elevated storage position atop the trailer. When the corralsystem is integrated into a trailer, a motor vehicle, or other vehicle,its various components can be recessed into channels in their stowedconfigurations in order to avoid altering the vehicle's length or width.

These and other objects, advantages, purposes, and features of thepresent invention will become more apparent upon review of the followingspecification in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a transport trailer withdeployable corral in accordance with the present invention, shown in atravel-ready configuration;

FIG. 2 is rear perspective view of the transport trailer with deployablecorral of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is left side elevation of the transport trailer with deployablecorral of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is another front perspective view of the transport trailer withdeployable corral, shown with two corrals in their respective deployedconfigurations;

FIG. 5 is another front perspective view of the transport trailer withdeployable corral of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a rear perspective view of the transport trailer withdeployable corral of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a rear elevation transparent line drawing of the transporttrailer with deployable corral of FIG. 4;

FIGS. 8-13 are left-rear perspective views of the transport trailer withdeployable corral of FIG. 1, depicting sequential steps of deploying theleft side deployable corral;

FIGS. 14A-14F are rear elevation transparent line drawings of a leftside portion of the transport trailer with deployable corral of FIG. 1,depicting sequential steps of stowing the left side deployable corral;

FIG. 15 is a left side perspective view of an alternative cable-drivecorral deployment and stowage mechanism for a transport trailer inaccordance with the present invention, taken from a forward viewpoint;

FIG. 16 is another left side perspective view of the alternativecable-drive corral deployment and stowage mechanism of FIG. 15, takenfrom a rearward viewpoint;

FIG. 17 is a left side perspective view of an alternative corralextension and retraction mechanism, taken from a lower viewpoint;

FIG. 18 is a left side perspective view of a portion of the alternativecorral extension and retraction mechanism of FIG. 17;

FIG. 19 is a left side perspective view of an alternativeleadscrew-drive corral deployment and stowage mechanism for a transporttrailer in accordance with the present invention, taken from a forwardviewpoint;

FIG. 20 is another left side perspective view of the alternativeleadscrew-drive corral deployment and stowage mechanism of FIG. 19,taken from a rearward viewpoint;

FIG. 21 is a perspective transparency line drawing of theleadscrew-drive of FIGS. 19 and 20;

FIG. 22 is a rear perspective view of a transport trailer withsuperimposed alternative single-cylinder linkage corral deployment andstowage mechanism;

FIG. 23A is a rear perspective view of the single cylinder linkage ofFIG. 22, shown in a deployed position;

FIG. 23B is another rear perspective view of the single cylinder linkageof FIG. 23A, shown in a retracted or stowed position;

FIG. 24 is a rear perspective view of a transport trailer withsuperimposed alternative double-cylinder linkage corral deployment andstowage mechanism;

FIGS. 25A-25I are front-right perspective views of another transporttrailer with deployable corral in accordance with the present invention,depicting sequential steps of deploying the right side deployablecorral;

FIGS. 26A-26C are perspective views of a rail-mountable storage bin,depicting sequential steps of opening top and front panels thereof;

FIGS. 27A-27C are perspective views of a hinge with a hinge guide andlocking system, depicting sequential steps of locking, unlocking, andoperating the hinge;

FIGS. 28A-28B are perspective views of an extendable support leg,depicting sequential steps of raising and lowering the support leg;

FIGS. 29A-29D are perspective views of a pivotable water trough,depicting sequential steps of deploying and stowing the water trough;

FIGS. 30A-30C are perspective views of a pivotable flap, depictingsequential steps of deploying and stowing the pivotable flap; and

FIG. 31 is a top plan view of another transport trailer in accordancewith the present invention, with top portions and corrals omitted toshow interior 320structure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings and the illustrative embodiments depictedtherein, a transport trailer with integrated corral system 10 includes atransport trailer 12, such as a livestock trailer, and two deployablecorrals 14 that extend and retract relative to respective sides oftrailer 12, such as shown in FIGS. 1-7. In the illustrated embodiment,corrals 14 are essentially self-contained and integrated into trailer12, and are capable of push button deployment and retraction by a singleoperator or user. Corrals 14 deploy to create fenced-in spaces 16outside the trailer 12 for animals to have a walking space while theyare not being transported. The corrals 14 may provide storage for feed,bedding materials, tools, water, saddles, and the like in one or morebins 20, which are positioned above the trailer 12 in the retracted orstowed position of FIGS. 1-3. Thus, the transport trailer withintegrated corral system 10 greatly simplifies the setup and takedown ofa portable corral that travels with the trailer, and which isself-powered so as to reduce or eliminate much of the manual liftingthat is usually associated with temporary care of livestock.

Although it is expected that the principles of the present inventionwould commonly be implemented in the context of livestock trailers, itwill be appreciated that other applications are also envisioned, such asfor use as portable vendor displays for goods or services, as will bedescribed below. Thus, the term “corral”, as used herein, is not to beconstrued as being limited to livestock containment applications, butinstead may refer to substantially any containment or barricade or wallfor substantially any purpose. Likewise, it will be understood thatreferences to horses or other livestock herein are for purposes ofproviding examples of applications and features of the disclosedembodiments, and are not intended to limit the invention to livestocktransport and containment applications. In addition, while the variousembodiments are described with reference to a towable trailer, it willbe appreciated that the principles of the present invention may beadapted to cargo vans, trucks, and self-powered recreational vehicles,and even to stationary structures such as sheds and homes wheretemporary corrals or pens are desired, without departing from the spiritand scope of the present invention.

Each deployable corral 14 includes a pair of pivotably extendable corralrails 18 having respective proximal end portions 18 a that are pivotablycoupled at or along an exterior side panel or upright wall 22 oflivestock trailer 12, the rails 18 having distal end portions 18 b thatextend out from exterior side panels 22 when in the deployed or extendedpositions of FIGS. 4-7. When corral rails 18 are moved to the stowed orretracted position of FIGS. 1-3, distal end portions 18 b are positionednear upper corners of trailer 12 where exterior side panels 22 meet aroof panel 24. A corral cross-rail 26 is coupled to each distal endportion 18 b of each extendable corral rail 18, and cooperates with thecorral rails 18 and the trailer's side panel 22 to define fenced-incorral space 16 when the corral 14 is deployed. In the illustratedembodiment, a corral swing gate 28 is pivotably coupled to each rearwardcross-rail 26, and provides access to corral space 16 when swing gate 28opened, such as shown at left in FIGS. 4 and 5 in which the gate 28 isillustrated simultaneously in both opened and closed positions. It willbe appreciated that each forward cross-rail 26 may also be fitted with aswing gate, so that one swing gate may be used to close the accessopening to fenced-in area 16, and the other swing gate may be used tosupport a storage bin 20 that is accessible to livestock in thefenced-in area 16.

Extendable corral rails 18 are pivotably coupled to trailer 12 atrespective rail pivots 30 located at bottom corners of trailer 12 nearwhere exterior side panels 22 terminate (FIGS. 7-9 and 14A-14F). Railpivots 30 define a common horizontal pivot axis that extendslongitudinally along trailer 12 below each side panel 22. In theillustrated embodiment, corral rails 18 are two-piece units including aninboard rail portion 32 (which forms proximal end portion 18 a) and anoutboard rail portion 34 that forms distal end portion 18 b and islongitudinally extendable and retractable relative to inboard railportion 32, such as shown in FIGS. 4-7 and 14A-14C. When corral rails 18are moved to the stowed or retracted position of FIGS. 1-3, distal endportions 18 b are positioned near upper corners of trailer 12 whereexterior side panels 22 meet a roof panel 24.

Optionally, in an alternative embodiment, the extendable corral railsare slidably coupled to trailer at respective rail slides located atbottom corners of trailer 12 near where exterior side panels 22terminate. Rail slides define a horizontal movement path that extendslaterally into a footprint of the trailer 12 defined by the trailerwalls. In this embodiment, the corral rails may be two-piece unitsincluding an inboard rail portion and an outboard rail portion that islongitudinally extendable and retractable relative to the inboard railportion similar to the arrangement shown in FIGS. 4-7 and 14A-14C. Whenthe corral rails are slidably moved to the stowed or retracted position,their distal end portions are positioned near lower corners of exteriorside panels 22 of trailer 12, and their corresponding cross-rails arepositioned along the exterior side panels 22, or may be contained withinrecesses formed in the side panels 22, similar to the recessed channels58 provided to receive the extendable corral rails 18, which aredescribed below in more detail.

A support leg 36 is pivotably coupled to each of the distal end portions18 b of the extendable corral rails 18 where the corral rail 18 meetscross-rail 26, with another support leg 36 at the opposite end of eachcross-rail 26. Each support leg 36 has a support wheel 38 rotatablymounted at its distal end, for rolling support of corral rails 18,cross-rails 26, and storage bins 20 along the ground or other supportsurface. Optionally, instead of support wheels it is envisioned thateach support leg 36 may be fitted with a skid plate or the like, whichwould slide along the ground or support surface during extension andretraction of the corral rails. It is further envisioned that eachsupport leg could be length-adjustable to accommodate uneven terrain.

Support legs 36 extend downwardly from the corral rails 18 andcross-rails 26 when the corral rails 18 are in the extended position ofFIGS. 4-7 and 14A. Support legs 36 extend upwardly from the corral rails18 and cross-rails 26 when the corral rails 18 are in the retractedposition of FIGS. 1-3 and 14F, although it should be understood that thesupport legs and wheels are not illustrated in FIGS. 1-3. The mechanismthat causes support legs 36 to pivot approximately 90-degrees whilecorral rails 18 also pivot approximately 90-degrees, which results inapproximately 180-degree change of orientation for support legs 36, ispart of the mechanism that raises and lowers corral rails 18 andcross-rails 26, and will be described below.

Optionally, and with reference to FIGS. 28A-28B, similar support legs436 extend downwardly from the cross-rails 26 to support the corralrails 18 and cross-rails 26 when they are in the extended position.Support legs 436 are configured to slidably extend downward through aslidable mount 438 to a deployed position, and slidably retract upwardthrough the slidable mount 438 to a stowed position. Support legs 436are adjustable to a desired height via respective pins 440 that passthrough the slidable mount 438 and into one or more of a plurality ofholes 442 disposed along the support leg 436, such that the support leg436 is constrained from vertical movement when the pin 440 is insertedas shown. In the illustrated embodiment the holes 438 are evenly spacedand arranged along most of the length of the support legs 436.Optionally, the pin 440 includes a spring-release detent orspring-loaded actuator that secures the pin in the aligned holes 438until manually released by the user.

Each of the extendable corral rails 18 has a respective corner post 40extending upwardly from its distal end portion 18 b. Corner posts 40also form the upright ends of respective corral cross-rails 26, such asshown in FIGS. 4-14F. A pair of upper corral rails 42 is pivotablyattached at its proximal end 42 a to each corner post 40, and rails 42are movable between a stowed position that is generally parallel tocross-rails 26 and perpendicular to extendable corral rails 18 (FIGS.8-11 and 14A-14F), and a deployed position that is generallyperpendicular to cross-rails 26 and parallel to extendable corral rails18 (FIGS. 4-7 and 13). The individual rails of each set of upper corralrails 42 of each deployable corral 14 are staggered in height, such asshown in FIGS. 7, 9-11, and 14A-14F, so that the two sets of uppercorral rails 42 may overlap one another vertically when in their stowedposition of FIGS. 1-3, 9-11, and 14A-14F, for compactness.

Once extendable corral rails 18 are fully extended, upper corral rails42 may be manually pivoted to their deployed positions by pivoting themin the manner indicated by arrows in FIGS. 12 and 13, so that they areparallel to their respective extendable corral rails 18. In the deployedposition, each upper corral rails' distal end 42 b is proximate thetrailer's exterior side panel 22. Optionally, each upper corral rail 42may be longitudinally extendable and retractable, such as in a two-piecetelescoping arrangement, to substantially match the overall length ofextendable corral rails 18 in extended or retracted positions. Thispermits a user to decide whether to fully extend the corral rails 18,such as due to space constraints where the trailer 12 is located, andthen size the upper corral rails 42 accordingly.

A latch 44 (FIGS. 4-7) in each individual rail of upper corral rails 42is actuatable to secure distal ends 42 b of upper corral rails 42 atexterior side panel 22, to prevent undesired pivoting of upper corralrails 42 when corral 14 is deployed and in use, such as could be causedby a horse or other livestock leaning against upper corral rails 42. Inthe illustrated embodiment, latches 44 are slide-pins disposed in hollowtubular upper corral rails 42, whose tips extend from the rails 42 andinto receiving bores 46 (FIGS. 7 and 20) or the like in exterior sidepanel 22. However, it will be appreciated that other types of manual orautomatic actuating latches may be used. In addition to latches 44securing upper corral rails 42 in their deployed positions, latches 44may be used to secure upper corral rails 42 in their stowed positions ina similar manner, although it will be appreciated that clips, straps, orother securing devices or fasteners may be used to secure upper corralrails 42 in their stowed positions, along cross-rails 26, prior toraising them with extendable corral rails 18 and cross-rails 26.

A powered drive system 48 is provided for raising and lowering thedeployable corrals 14, as best shown in FIGS. 7 and 14A-14F. Drivesystem 48 includes a double-acting piston-cylinder 50 operativelycoupled to each extendable corral rail 18 and to a lower region oftrailer 12. In the illustrated embodiment, piston-cylinders 50 include apivotally-mounted hydraulic cylinder 50 a coupled to trailer 12, whichcylinder 50 a receives pressurized hydraulic fluid from a motor-drivenpump (not shown), and an extendable and retractable piston andassociated piston rod 50 b that extends laterally outwardly fromexterior side panel 22 (or from below or in front of the side panel 22,such as between a forward vertical edge of the side panel and a fairing)and is pivotally coupled to an upward-extending tab 52 at a proximal endof outboard rail portion 34. A pivot arm 53 is coupled to tab 52 andpiston rod 50 b by a small shaft, as best shown in FIG. 24, and rotatesrelative to corral rail 18 and piston rod 50 b as corral rail 18 pivotsup and down. Pivot arm 53 is pivotally coupled to a support leg link 54,which is coupled at its opposite end to an upward-extending tab 56associated with support legs 36, with support leg link 54 causingsupport legs 36 to pivot relative to extendable corral rails 18 andcross-rails 26 during raising and lowering of corrals 14, but not duringextension and retraction of outboard rail portions 34 relative toinboard rail portions 32.

Referring to FIGS. 14A-14F, in which several steps of corral retractionand raising are depicted, from the deployed or fully extended positionof FIG. 14A to the stowed or fully retracted position of FIG. 14F, theretraction of outboard rail portion 34 relative to inboard rail portion32, the pivoting of support legs 36, and the raising of extendablecorral rails 18, cross-rails 26, and associated components, are allaccomplished by operating piston-cylinder 50 to retract piston rod 50 binto cylinder 50 a. It will be appreciated that other stowage steps,such as closing lids or covers of storage bins 20, and moving uppercorral rails 42 to their stowed positions, may be accomplished manuallyprior to operating piston-cylinder 50. In addition, various sensors maybe provided to ensure that piston-cylinder 50 cannot be operated whenupper corral rails 42 are deployed, when swing gate 28 is open, or whenlids of storage bins 20 are open or unlocked, to ensure that the corral14 is ready for retraction before powered drive system 48 is operated.

From the fully extended configuration of FIG. 14A, piston-cylinder 50 isactivated to begin drawing piston rod 50 b into cylinder 50 a andthereby pulling outboard rail portion 34 (via upwardly-extending tab 52)laterally inboard toward trailer 12. This causes outboard rail portion34 to slide along inboard rail portion 32 while support wheels 38 rollalong the ground or other support surface, such as shown in FIG. 14B.Once outboard rail portion 34 is fully retracted (FIG. 14C), extendablecorral rails 18 are at their minimum length and further retraction ofpiston rod 50 b causes extendable corral rails 18, cross-rails 26, andattached components to rise in a pivoting manner (FIG. 14D) due to thelaterally inward force being applied by piston rod 50 b toupwardly-extending tab 52, which is spaced a distance above the fixedrail pivots 30.

As extendable corral rails 18, cross-rails 26, and their attachedcomponents continue to pivot upwardly about rail pivots 30, the portionsof piston rods 50 b that extend beyond tabs 52 (i.e., where support leglinks 54 are attached) are pivoted to be closer to extendable corralrails 18 and moved into closer proximity to rail pivots 30. Thismovement causes support leg links 54 to be moved inward, generallytoward rail pivots 30, as extendable corral rails 18 rise upwardly aboutrail pivots 30, which in turn causes upward-extending tabs 56 to moveinwardly toward rail pivots, thus causing the associated support legs 36to pivot upwardly (clockwise as viewed in FIGS. 14D-14F) until they aresubstantially parallel to extendable corral rails 18 and extend upwardlyonce corrals 14 reach their stowed or fully retracted configuration ofFIGS. 1-3 and 14F. Deployment of the corrals 14 is accomplished inessentially the reverse order of the retraction steps described above,and may be further understood with reference to FIGS. 8-13.

Optionally, and with reference to FIGS. 30A-30C, additional securingmembers in the form of latches 510 are provided to secure corral rails18 in their vertical orientations along exterior side panels 22, so thatpiston-cylinders 50 are not solely relied upon to maintain corrals 14 intheir raised and stowed positions during transport. Each latch 510includes a flap 512 pivotally mounted to the exterior side panel 22 ofthe trailer 12 via hinges 514. However, it will be appreciated thatother types of latch or securing member may be used, such as a slidelatch that slides between a blocking or secured position, and anunblocking or released position.

In the illustrated embodiment, each flap 512 defines a pair of supportholes 516 that receive and support the distal ends 42 b of respectiveupper corral rails 42 when the upper corral rails are extended towardthe trailer 12, such as in the manner described above. Latch 510 furtherincludes a lock mechanism 518, such as a simple slide member, to securethe flap 512 when the latch 510 is in a closed position. Optionally,each latch 510 further includes a position sensor 520 configured tocommunicate the position of the flap to a user or to a controller. Thesensor 520 generates a signal indicative of flap position, such as awarning indicator to warn a user that the corral 14 should not be raisedor lowered until the flaps 512 are opened. When a controller isprovided, the signals from the sensors 520 can be used to disable theactuators and thereby prevent the deployable corral 14 from extending orretracting unless the flap 512 is indicated to be in an open position.

Referring to FIGS. 4-13, trailer 12 includes vertical recessed channelsor recesses 58 at forward and rearward ends of exterior side panels 33.Recessed channels 58 receive extendable corral rails 18 and othercomponents of corrals 14 when corrals 14 are raised, so that corralrails 18 are substantially flush with exterior side panels 22 whencorrals 14 are fully stowed. Trailer 12 further includes a forwardaerodynamic fairing 60 that extends a sufficient distance upwardly abovethe trailer's roof panel 24 so as to provide a wind break for storagebins 20, cross-rails 26, swing gate 28, and upper corral rails 42 whenthese components are all positioned above roof panel 24 forover-the-road transport. Trailer 12 includes other standard componentsincluding dual axle wheels 62 and a rear lift gate and ramp 64, whichmay also be considered an upright wall when closed as shown. Althoughdeployable corrals 14 are shown as being mounted and deployable alongthe side panels 22 of trailer 12, it will be appreciated that adeployable corral may also (or instead) be fitted at a rear of thetrailer, with the rear lift gate and ramp 64 being lowerable into thefenced-in corral space created by the rear-mounted deployable corral,without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Power drive system 48 may be operated by a pushbutton controller or thelike, placed anywhere along the trailer that allows or causes the userto stay clear of the moving components while monitoring their operationto ensure that corrals 14 deploy and stow correctly, and without contactwith obstructions. For example, a handheld pendant controller may beconnected via wire to the powered components (e.g., electric motor orcombustion engine, fluid valves, solenoids, etc.) of drive system 48,and stowed in a storage area when not in use. It is further envisionedthat a wireless remote control may be used to operate drive system 48,and/or that a key system may be provided to ensure that only authorizedusers are able to actuate the system.

In addition, the controller may provide fault or warning messages orother visual or audio indications to the operator in the event that asensor detects an obstruction or a not-ready indication (e.g., a storagebin 20 left open or upper corral rails 42 locked in the deployedpositions when corral 14 is to be raised). Additional functionality maybe provided, such as by adding powered actuators to move upper corralrails 42 after extendable corral rails 18 are fully extended, or priorto retraction of the extendable corral rails 18, and automaticallysequenced as appropriate so that a single user input can be used toinitiate a full extension or retraction sequence. A programmable logiccontroller (PLC) or the like may be used to facilitate operation andcontrol of the powered drive system 48 as desired.

Optional features of trailer 12 and deployable corrals 14 include ashade awning 66 that is stored in rolled form along an upper edge ofeach side panel 22, and a retractable feed or water trough 68 thatextends outwardly from side panel 22 and retracts into the side panel 22for transport. Shade awning 66 is a flexible sheet supported on arotatable spring-loaded or motor-driven spool (not shown) that ismounted in a longitudinal recess 69 (FIG. 1) at each corner where roofpanel 24 is nearest to the respective side panel 22. It should beunderstood that in FIGS. 14A-14E presented herein, shade awning 66appears as a rigid sheet that appears to pass through other componentsand does not wind onto a spool, which reflects a limitation in thesoftware used to generate those particular images and should not betaken literally. A distal end of shade awning 66 is mounted to anelongate end support rod 70 that is supported at its opposite ends by apair of awning support rods 72, which are pivotally mounted at theirlower ends to proximal end portions of respective outboard rail portions34, near upwardly-extending tabs 52. Awning support rods 72 may bespring-biased outwardly away from side panels 22 so that they will acton end support rod 70 to draw shade awning 66 off of its spool and outover at least a portion of fenced-in corral space 16 as the spoolunwinds the shade awning (FIGS. 6-13). The unwinding and rewinding ofshade awning 66 may be accomplished manually, or in a self-poweredmanner such as in response to an extend/retract switch or control. Whenshade awning 66 and extendable corral rails 18 are retracted, awningsupport rods 72 recess into vertical recessed channels 58 alongsidecorral rails 18, for unobtrusive storage.

Water troughs 68 may be manually unlatched and pulled down to deploywhen corrals 14 are in use (FIGS. 4-7, 11-14A, 29A-29D), and manuallyraised and re-latched to stow for transport when corrals (14) are not inuse (FIGS. 1-3, 8-10, 29B and 29D). However, it is envisioned that watertroughs 68 may be raised and lowered in a powered manner, such as inresponse to a pushbutton control, and may be raised and loweredautomatically in response to retracting and extending of the corrals.For example, powered deployment and retraction of troughs 68 may besequenced automatically with other deployment and retraction steps orfunctions associated with corral 14, as described above. Water troughs68 may also be deployed independently of corrals 14, such as to providewater for livestock that are tied to trailer 12 or that are free to roamaround the trailer when the corrals 14 are not deployed. Water may beadded to each trough 68 from an on-board water reservoir stored ontrailer 12, such as by a pump or gravity feed, or may be added from anexternal source such as a bucket or hose. It is envisioned that troughsmay be drained of water through a drain opening or valve prior tostowage, or may simply be stowed with water still present, such that thewater spills out as the trough 68 is lifted and tilted up to its stowedposition.

Water troughs 68 include a pivotably deployable trough vessel 568, apivotable hinge mount 570, an exterior panel 572, and a hinge mountingplate 574. Optionally, the water trough 68 includes a fill port 576 thatis configured to receive a water line used to fill the trough vessel568. When deployed, the trough vessel 568 may be filled using a waterline (not shown) extending between fill port 576 and a plumbing systemof the trailer. This allows that trough vessel 568 to be filled from awater tank (not shown) contained within the trailer, with gravity-feedor a pump arrangement used to supply water pressure, and a valve (notshown) provided to selectively fill the vessel 568. The valve may beaccessed through a cutaway portion 582 formed in the trailer side panel22. Optionally, the trough vessels 568 may be manually filled with abucket or external hose. A water drainage pathway may be provided withinthe trailer's side panel 22, so that any water remaining in the vessel568 can simply spill down through the side panel 22 and onto the groundwhen the vessel 568 is pivoted up to its stowed configuration.Optionally, the water trough 68 includes a lock or latch 578 disposed onthe exterior panel 572 to secure the water trough 68 while in a stowedconfiguration. The exterior panel 572 may include a cover portion 580configured to cover the cutaway portion 582 of the side panel 22. Thecutaway portion 582 is configured to allow the fill port 576 and aportion of the associated water line to pass through the trailer sidepanel 22 when the water trough 68 is pivoted between configurations.

In addition to water troughs 68 that provide water to livestock in thefenced-in space 16 defined by a given corral 14, animal feed may be madeavailable to the livestock from one of storage bins 20, such as thecentral storage bin mounted to swing gate 28. Referring to FIGS. 4 and5, when swing gate 28 is open, fenced-in space 16 is accessible fromoutside the corral and the storage bin 20 that is supported on swinggate 28 is made accessible to livestock in the fenced-in space 16.However, because having swing gate 28 open leaves an opening tofenced-in space 16, it would be desirable to provide a cable or a secondswing gate or other temporary closure between the cross-rails 26 whileswing gate 28 is open, to limit or prevent livestock from exiting thefenced-in space 16. Alternatively, the storage bin 20 can be moved tothe inward-facing side of either of the cross-rails 26 or the swing gate28 (with swing gate 28 closed) to provide livestock with access to thecontents of the bin. Although the central-mounted storage bin 20 that ismounted on swing gate 28 is described as being available for storage ofanimal feed and providing livestock with access to the feed as desired,it will be appreciated that the central-mounted storage bin 20 may alsoprovide a convenient receptacle for bedding and other waste materialsthat a user may wish to remove from the fenced-in space 16 prior toretracting and stowing corrals 14.It will be appreciated that theprinciples of the cargo transport or livestock trailer with deployablecorral system may be accomplished in different ways, and are not limitedto those described hereinabove. For example, it is envisioned that thecorral system may be retrofitted to existing livestock trailers usingbolt-on components and with little modification to the trailer, albeitperhaps with a less compact stowed configuration. In addition, torsionsprings, gas struts, or the like may be used to reduce the loads thatmust be lifted by the powered drive system. By further example, and withreference to FIGS. 15-18, an alternative cable-operated powered drivesystem 80 may have potentially lower weight and cost as compared tohydraulic drive system 48. Cable-operated system 80 includes a drivespool or pulley 82 at a lower region of vertical recessed channel 58,with a flexible cable 84 wound around pulley or spool 82 (FIG. 16).Cable 84 extends upwardly to an idler pulley 86 and then has a distalend 84 a coupled to extendable corral rail 18, such as approximatelymid-way along outboard rail portion 34 (FIGS. 15 and 17). Drive pulley82 is turned by a motor (not shown) in a first direction to unwind cable84 and lower extendable corral rails 18, and is turned in a second,opposite direction to wind cable 84 onto pulley 82 and draw the corralrails 18 up and into vertical recessed channels 58 to stow the corrals.Although idler pulley 86 could be eliminated by placing the drive pulley82 in its location, the use of an elevated idler pulley facilitatesplacement of the motor associated with drive pulley 82 at a lower andless obtrusive location near the other mechanisms, including watertrough 68. In addition, cable-operated system 80 can readily accommodatea manual override feature for use in the event of a drained battery orother power system failure, such as by allowing use of a wrench orhand-crank to turn the drive spool or pulley 82.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIGS. 15-18, cable-operated system 80is not capable of extending and retracting outboard rail portions 34relative to inboard rail portions 32. However, such extension andretraction may be accomplished with a corral rail extension system 90that utilizes a pair of leadscrews 92 disposed along respective corralrails 18, such as shown in FIGS. 17 and 18. Leadscrews 92 may beconventional in that they include a threaded shaft 92 a and a threadednut or collar (mounted inside an elongate cylinder 92 b) arranged sothat the shaft 92 a extends and retracts longitudinally relative to thecylinder 92 b upon rotation of the shaft 92 a. In the arrangement ofFIGS. 17 and 18, each shaft 92 a has a driven gear or pulley 94 at itsdistal end, which driven gears or pulleys 94 are located at a distal oroutboard end of each corral rail 18 and are operatively coupled torespective outboard rail portions 34. A drive gear or pulley 96 iscentrally located between the driven gears or pulleys 94, with the threedrive gears or pulleys 94, 94, 96 all rotatably mounted on a cross-beam98 that extends generally between the distal ends of the corral rails18.

A pair of endless flexible drive members in the form of drive chains orbelts 100 extend around drive gear or pulley 96 and around respectiveones of the driven gears or pulleys 94, so that rotation of the drivegear or pulley 96 causes both driven gears or pulleys 94 to rotate in asynchronized manner. This causes each leadscrew shaft 92 a to rotate ina synchronized manner, thus causing leadscrews 92 to move outboard railportions 34 inwardly or outwardly depending on the direction ofrotation. In the illustrated embodiment, drive gear or pulley 96includes a central drive shaft that is configured to be engaged androtatably driven by a separate tool such as a cordless power drill 102,or by a manual tool such as a wrench or screwdriver, or the drive shaftmay be fitted with a manual knob or crank that can be grasped androtated by hand. Optionally, and to provide unobstructed access to thefenced-in area 16 through swing gate 28 when opened, cross-beam 98 andgears or pulleys 94, 96 may be readily detachable from the ends ofleadscrew shafts 92 a, which may be journaled in respective supportbearings or bushings connected to outboard rail portions 34.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIGS. 19-21, a powered leadscrew 104 issubstituted for piston-cylinder 50 of powered drive system 48, describedabove. Powered leadscrews 104 act upon extendable corral rails 18through upward-extending tabs 52 in substantially the same way thatpiston-cylinder 50 operates, but it will be appreciated that poweredleadscrews 104 can eliminate the need for a hydraulic pump andassociated motor, instead utilizing a relatively compact drive motor 106that may be electrically (or hydraulically) energized, a gear trainreduction 108, and a rotatably driven nut or collar 110, such as shownin FIG. 21. A cylindrical housing 112 is pivotally mounted to trailer 12in substantially the same manner that cylinder 50 a would be mounted,and receives a proximal portion of a threaded shaft 114 that attaches totab 52 and extends and retracts in response to the activation of motor106 to drive the nut or collar 110 that engages shaft 114. Poweredleadscrew 104 may be modified to accommodate a manual override feature,such as by allowing use of a wrench or hand-crank 115 to turn thethreaded nut or collar 110.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIGS. 22 and 23, an optional singlecylinder linkage 116 provides lifting capability for deployable corrals,and is shown in phantom and spaced rearwardly of corral rail 18 and rearlift gate and ramp 64 in FIG. 22. Linkage 116 includes a piston-cylinderassembly 118 having a cylinder 118 a pivotally mounted at its proximalend to trailer 12 at or near vertical recessed channel 58. It should beunderstood that, as mentioned above, in FIG. 22 linkage 116 is spacedrearward from its as-installed position so that its components can beclearly shown. A piston rod 118 b extends downwardly from cylinder 118 aand pivotally connects to a proximal end of outboard rail portion 34 viaa generally L-shaped yoke 120. Cylinder 118 a is activated to extendpiston rod 118 b and thereby cause corral rail 18 to pivot out ofvertical recessed channel 58 and down to a substantially horizontalorientation, whereupon further extension of piston rod 118 b causesoutboard rail portion 34 to slide or telescope outwardly relative toinboard rail portion 32 until the corral rail 18 is fully extended (FIG.22). Partial retraction of piston rod 118 b causes outboard rail portionto slide fully inwardly along inboard rail portion 32 so that corralrail 18 assumes its fully retracted and shortest configuration (FIG.23A). Full retraction of piston rod 118 b (FIG. 23B) causes corral rail18 to pivot upwardly for stowage in the transport position, in whichcorral rail 18 and piston-cylinder assembly 118 are substantiallyparallel to one another and stowed in vertical recessed channel 58 oftrailer 12.

It will be appreciated that single-cylinder linkage 116 has a mechanicaladvantage over the powered drive system 48 because piston-cylinderassembly 118 acts on approximately a midpoint of corral rail 18 whenoutboard rail portion 34 is fully extended, which gives a much longermoment arm to rail pivots 30 than does upwardly-extending tab 52 ofdrive system 48. It will further be appreciated that the pivotingmovement of yoke 120 relative to corral rail 18 can be used to effectpivoting movement of support legs 36 using a support leg link and tabthat are similar to leg link 54 and tab 56 described above, so that thesupport legs 36 are oriented substantially parallel to corral rails 18when corrals 14 are stowed.

Referring to another alternative powered drive system as shown in FIG.24, a dual cylinder linkage 122 utilizes two separate piston-cylinderassemblies 124, 126 for providing lateral extension/retraction andpivoting movement of extendable corral rails 18, respectively. As withFIG. 22, in FIG. 24 dual cylinder linkage 122 is shown in phantom linesand is positioned rearwardly from its as-installed position so that itscomponents can be clearly shown. Extension/retraction piston-cylinderassembly 124 has a double-acting cylinder 124 a coupled to outboard railportion 34 and a piston rod 124 b coupled to inboard rail portion 32,such that extension and retraction of piston rod 124 b relative tocylinder 124 a causes corral rail 18 to extend and retract with outboardrail portion 34 telescoping relative to inboard rail portion 32.

Pivoting piston-cylinder assembly 126 has a double-acting cylinder 126 acoupled to trailer 12 at or near vertical recessed channel 58, and apiston rod 126 b coupled to inboard rail portion 32 at anupward-extending tab 128, such that extension and retraction of pistonrod 126 b relative to cylinder 126 a causes corral rail 18 to pivotallylower to a substantially horizontal deployed position (shown) and riseto a stowed position with corral rail 18 disposed in vertical recessedchannel 58. For deployment of corral 14, pivoting piston-cylinderassembly 126 would typically actuate (extend) first until the associatedsupport wheels are resting along the ground or support surface, and thenthe extension/retraction piston-cylinder assembly 124 would actuate(extend) until corral rails 18 reach their maximum length. Forretraction of corral 14, the pivoting piston-cylinder assembly 126 andextension/retraction piston-cylinder assembly 124 would typicallyactuate (retract) in the opposite order.

Optionally, and with reference to FIG. 25A-25I, another transporttrailer with integrated corral system 210 includes a transport trailer212, such as a livestock trailer, and two deployable corrals 214 thatextend and retract relative to respective sides of trailer 212.Deployable corrals 214 are similar in many respects to the deployablecorrals 14 described above, such that the following description willfocus mainly on different aspects of corrals 214, which are lighterweight and less costly to manufacture, but which can still provide acomparable amount of fenced-in area 216 (FIGS. 25F-25I) as compared tothe fenced-in area 16 of corrals 14. Each deployable corral 214 includesa pair of pivotably-extendable corral rails 218 that, unlike corralrails 18 described above, are not telescopically extendable. Deployablecorrals 214 may be raised and lowered using a powered drive system suchas one of the powered drive systems described above. However, becausedeployable corrals 214 are lighter weight and less complex than those ofthe embodiments described above, corrals 214 may be more suitable for amanual drive system, either as primary/sole drive system or as backup toa powered drive system.

Corral rails 218 have respective proximal end portions 218 a that arepivotably coupled at or along an exterior side panel 222 of livestocktrailer 212, and respective distal end portions 218 b that arepositioned near the trailer's roof panel 224 in the stowed configurationof FIG. 25A, and are spaced laterally outwardly from trailer 212 in thedeployed configuration of FIGS. 25B-25I. The corral rails' distal endportions 218 pivotably support corral cross-rails 226 that includerespective upwardly-extending corner posts 240 to which a set of uppercorral rails 242 are pivotably attached. Thus, upper corral rails 242may be stored parallel to corral cross-rails 226 as in FIG. 25B, and maybe pivoted so that their distal ends (which include latches 244) can becoupled to the trailer 212 near its sidewall 222, such as shown in FIGS.25C-25I.

Corral cross-rails 226 are pivotable from their stowage position inwhich they are substantially perpendicular to their respective corralrails 218 (FIGS. 25A-25D) to deployed positions in which they are angledaway from trailer sidewall 222 and form obtuse angles relative to corralrails 218 (FIGS. 25E-251). This allows deployable corrals 214 to form amore rounded fenced-in area 216, which can make it easier for horses toturn and maneuver within the area, as compared to a rectangularfenced-in area. It will be appreciated that this feature may also beapplied to the deployable corral 14 with telescopically extendablecorral rails 18 described in earlier embodiments.

Below each corner post 240, where each corral cross-rail 226 ispivotably coupled to a respective corral rail 218, there is a pair ofplates 231, 233 that are attached to corral cross-rail 226 and corralrail 218, respectively, and which are vertically offset from one anotherand have respective through-holes formed therein for receiving a lockpin 235. The through-holes of the plates 231, 233 align when corralcross-rail 226 is substantially perpendicular to its corral rail 218,and lock pin 235 may be spring-loaded so as to automatically extendthrough both through-holes upon alignment, so as to substantially lockcorral cross-rail 226 against pivoting relative to corral rail 218.Optionally, an additional through-hole formed in the plate 231 of corralcross-rail 226 is positioned to align with the through-hold formed inthe plate 233 of corral rail 218 when the corral cross-rail 226 ispivoted outwardly to an angled position, such as shown in FIGS. 25E-251.Lock pin 235 is spring-loaded will automatically drop or snap downthrough both through-holes when the corral cross-rail 226 has reachedthe desired angled position, thus providing a clear indication to theuser that the corral cross-rails 226 are positioned correctly for theuse of a pivotable swing gate 228.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIGS. 27A-27C, the corral cross-rails26 are pivotably coupled to extendable corral rails 18 with respectivehinge locking systems 310 mounted at the distal end 18 b of eachextendable corral rail 18 and the proximal end 26 a of eachcorresponding corral cross-rail 26. The hinge locking system 310includes an upper pivot plate 312, a lower pivot plate 314, an upperguide 316 defining a downwardly-facing arcuate channel, and a lowerguide channel 318 defining an upwardly-facing arcuate channel directlybelow the downwardly-facing channel of the upper pivot plate 312. Thehinge locking system 310 further includes a tracking pin 320 with upperand lower ends received in the upper and lower guide channels,respectively, and a locking pin 322 that is used to set the angle of thecorral cross-rail 26 relative to the corresponding extendable corralrail 18.

The pivot plates 312, 314 are secured to a proximal end 26 a of thecorral cross-rail 26 and extend beyond a pivot joint 324 coupling thecross-rail 26 to the extendable corral rail 18, such that the pivotplates 312, 314 extend laterally beyond the exterior surfaces of thecorral cross-rail 26 and extendable corral rail 18 and, preferably, donot extend into the enclosed portion of the corral. Because all parts ofeach hinge locking system 310 are located either within the footprint ofthe cross-rail 26 and extendable corral rail 18, or outboard of thatfootprint, horses or other livestock in the fenced-in area are lesslikely to place a hoof atop the upper pivot plate 312 to support part oftheir weight upon the hinge parts from inside the fenced-in area.

The upper and lower guides 316, 318 are disposed between the pivotplates 312, 314 and guide the tracking pin 320, which is fixed relativeto the distal end 18 b of the extendable corral rail 18 by a bracket321. As the corral cross-rail 26 pivots relative to the extendablecorral rail 18, the tracking pin 320 tracks within the arcuate channelsdefined by the guides 316, 318 and as the tracking pin 320 meets theends of the arcuate channels of the guides 316, 318, the corralcross-rail 26 is prevented from pivoting any farther. The tracking pin320 defines an axial bore that receives the locking pin 322. The lockingpin 322 is inserted through one of a plurality of holes 328 in the upperpivot plate 312, through the tracking pin 320 when properly aligned, andthrough a corresponding one of a set of holes 330 in the lower pivotplate 314 to lock the corral cross-rail 26 into the desired angularposition. Additional holes 328 and 330 may be disposed along the pivotplates 312, 314 and within the guides 316, 318 to provide additionallocking positions for the corral cross-rail 26 relative to theextendable corral rail 18.

In the illustrated embodiment of FIGS. 25A-25I, the rearward corralcross-rail 226 supports pivotable swing gate 228 that latches to adistal end of the forward corral cross-rail 226, such as shown in FIGS.25G and 25H. Swing gate 228 can be manually unlatched and swung inwardlyor outwardly (FIG. 251) to provide access to fenced-in area 216.Optionally, the swing gate's latch 229 may be lockable to help securelivestock in the fenced-in area 216.

Like deployable corrals 14, deployable corrals 214 of FIGS. 25A-25Iinclude storage bins 220 mounted along outboard sides of each corralcross-rail 226. In the illustrated embodiment of FIGS. 25A-25I, and asbest shown in FIGS. 26A-26C, storage bins 220 are designed to facilitatestorage and access to animal feed, tools, and other supplies that may beuseful to animal handlers. Each storage bin 220 includes a fixed rearwall 250, fixed sidewalls 252, and a fixed bottom wall 254. A pivotabletop wall or lid 256 is hinged to an upper region of rear wall 250, and apivotable front wall 258 is hinged to a forward region of bottom wall254 (FIGS. 26B and 26C). Pivotable front wall 258 includes a pair offront wall sidewalls 260 that move with the front wall 258 and arespaced inwardly from fixed sidewalls 252, with pivot-limiting struts 262coupled between fixed sidewalls 252 and front wall sidewalls 260 andserving to hold front wall 258 in a substantially horizontal orientationwhen opened, such as shown in FIG. 26C. Because storage bins 220 may bemounted at their fixed rear walls 250 to vertical surfaces or supportssuch as corral cross-rails 226, and may be loaded with hay bales, tools,water jugs, or other heavy articles, structural bracing 264 may beprovided along fixed rear wall 250 to ensure sufficient strength anddurability.

The configuration of storage bins 220 makes them well-suited for storingand transporting hay bales or straw bales for animal feed or bedding,and for providing livestock with access to the contents of storage bins220 if desired, while minimizing the amount of manual lifting requiredof a handler. For example, when storage bins 220 are attached to corralcross-rails 226 and corrals 214 are deployed and the storage bins' frontwalls 258 are open as shown in FIG. 26C, the upwardly-facing innersurface of front wall 258 provides a low platform on which a bale may belifted and placed, without requiring that the bale be lifted to chestheight or even to waist height. Once a bale or other heavy object isresting on the upwardly-facing inner surface of front wall 258, it canbe accessed by livestock if desired, or it can be readily moved ontofixed bottom wall 254 by lifting the pivotable front wall 258 to theclosed position shown in FIG. 26B. Pivotable front wall 258 can then belatched closed using latches 268, and top lid 256 can be closed andlatched as shown in FIG. 26A. When storage bins 220 are closed as shownin FIG. 26A, they may be lifted by the powered drive system ofdeployable corral 214 and stored atop trailer 212, without any manuallifting by the handler or user. Thus, once a bale or heavy article hasbeen lifted a relatively short vertical distance onto the open frontwall 258 of a storage bin 220, and moved to the bottom wall 254, noadditional manual lifting is required to move the bin up to a rooftopstorage position such as shown in FIG. 25A.

Storage bins 220 may be attached to respective corral cross-rails 226using brackets 266 such as shown in FIG. 251. Because of the substantialweight that may be carried in storage bins 220, it may be desirable toprovide a support leg 270 that extends downwardly from corral cross-rail226 to engage the ground or other support surface, to thereby stabilizecorral rails 218 and corral cross-rails 226 in the deployedconfiguration, and reduce stresses on pivot joints where cross-rails 226are coupled to corral rails 218, and where corral rails 218 are coupledto trailer 212. Support leg 270 may be pivotable such as pivotablesupport leg 36 or vertically slidable such as support leg 436.

The interior of transport trailer 12 may be conventionally outfitted forone or more horses or other livestock, and may also include livingquarters for one or more owners or operators of the trailer. Referringto FIG. 31, in which a roof structure is omitted to show interiorstructure, trailer 12 defines an interior with livestock living quarters620 in a “saw tooth” arrangement, in which two stalls 622 a, 622 b aredefined by a trailer floor surface 624, respective chest walls or fences626 a, 626 b, a forward stall divider wall 628 a, and a rearward stalldivider wall 628 b. In addition, a front wall 630 is set parallel toforward stall divider wall 628 a and extends from the left sidewall 22to the right sidewall 22, at an oblique angle relative to bothsidewalls. In the illustrated embodiment, each stall divider wall 628 a,628 b is an interior sidewall, similar to a fence or gate, that extendsrearwardly and laterally from the left sidewall 22 toward the rightsidewall 22, but terminates so as to leave a gap between the rear end ofeach divider wall and the right sidewall 22. Rear end portions of eachstall divider wall 628, 628 b may be pivotable to facilitate loading andunloading of horses or other livestock animals. The chest walls 626 a,626 b are substantially parallel to one another and each is set at afirst oblique angle, such as about 20 to 45 degrees relative to the leftsidewall 22, extending forwardly and laterally from the left sidewall 22toward the front of the trailer and toward the right sidewall 22. Thestall divider walls 628 a, 628 b and front wall 630 are generallyperpendicular to the chest walls 626 a, 626 b and, therefore, are set ata second oblique angle relative to the trailer sidewalls 22.

The arrangement of stalls 622 a, 622 b including the obliquely angledchest walls 626 a, 626 b and stall divider walls 628 a, 628 b is suchthat, in the event of a sudden deceleration of the trailer 12 while inforward motion, the chest of a horse or other livestock animal in one ofthe stalls will contact the corresponding chest wall 622 a or 622 b,which may be padded to reduce risk of injury or discomfort to the horse,and the side of the horse or animal will contact the divider wall 628 aor forward wall 630. Respective notched regions 632 where the front wall630 meets the forward chest wall 626 a, and where the forward dividerwall 628 a meets the rearward chest wall 626 b, ensures that there is nopinch-point in the forwardmost region of each stall 622 a, 622 b.

Each chest wall 626 a, 626 b extends upwardly from floor surface 624 toan intermediate height spaced well below the trailer's roof panel, sothat a horse may position its neck over the chest wall, with its headpositioned laterally between the chest wall and the trailer's leftsidewall 22. Each chest wall 626 a, 626 b cooperates with a forward endportion of the front wall 630 or the forward divider wall 628 a,respectively, and with the left sidewall 22, to define a respectiveforward manger 634 a and rearward manger 634 b. The mangers 634 a, 634 bextend down to floor 624 and provide a space for hay or other animalfeed to be placed for access by the animal in the respective stall 622a, 622 b. In addition, each sidewall 22 defines a respective elongatestorage chamber 635 that is accessible through openable doors or panels(not shown) provided in an exterior surface and/or an interior surfaceof each sidewall 22. In addition, a forward storage chamber 634 c isdefined by the front wall 630, the right sidewall 22, and a front wall636 of the trailer.

Optionally, and as shown in FIG. 31, water troughs 68 may be providedalong the interior of the left sidewall 22, which are accessible tohorses in each stall 622 a, 622 b. The water troughs 68 may be fixed, ormay be retractable in a similar manner as described above, and may beserviced with a plumbing system that selectively supplies water underpressure to each trough, as desired. In the illustrated embodiment,additional utilities may be provided for the operator of the trailer 12,such as a toilet 638 and a shower area 640 including a floor drain 642at the rear of the animal living quarters 620.

As noted above, transport trailers with integrated corral systems arenot necessarily limited to livestock use, and with little or nomodification, may be implemented for different purposes such as portablevendor display booths for goods or services at indoor or outdoor displayareas. For example, storage bins supported on corral cross-rail 26and/or swing gate 28 may be omitted, or adapted for use as display casesshowing or providing access to goods, video displays, pamphlets andbrochures, awards, giveaways, and the like, while additional storage ordisplay space may be provided along the exterior side panel 22, such asin a similar manner to the deployable trough 68. Any of the corralcross-rails 26, swing gate 28, and upper corral rails 42, may be fittedwith countertops or table surfaces, shelving, and the like. Shade awning66 may be printed with company logos or other indicia, with additionaldisplay space provided along exterior side panel 22 and/or below theawning's elongate end support rod 70, along the awning support rods 72,etc. In addition, living quarters for persons may be provided inlivestock trailers, in vehicle (e.g., motorsports) hauling trailers, invendor display booth trailers, or the like, without departing from thespirit and scope of the present invention.

Thus, the deployable corral system of the present invention is installedonto or integrated with a transport trailer such as a livestock trailer,and enables powered deployment and stowage of the components with littleor no lifting required by the operator. Moreover, animal feed, bedding,tack, and tools or equipment can be stored on the corral system andlifted by the corral system for transport over the roof of the trailer,also without need for significant lifting by the operator. An optionalshade awning deploys automatically or manually to provide shade over aportion of the fenced-in area provided by each corral, and an optionaltrough deploys from a sidewall of the trailer to facilitate watering thelivestock in the corral. A powered drive system is operable to performmost of the deployment and stowage steps for the corral, includingsubstantially all of the heavy lifting required, with different levelsof automation, actuation, and sensing available as desired.

Changes and modifications in the specifically described embodiments canbe carried out without departing from the principles of the presentinvention, which is intended to be limited only by the scope of theappended claims, as interpreted according to the principles of patentlaw, including the doctrine of equivalents.

1. A deployable corral system for a transport trailer, said corralsystem comprising: a pair of extendable corral rails having respectiveproximal end portions and distal end portions, wherein said proximal endportions are configured for attachment to the trailer, and saidextendable corral rails are movable between an extended position and aretracted position relative to the trailer; a corral cross-rail coupledto said distal end portion of at least one of said extendable corralrails, wherein when said at least one extendable corral rail is in saidextended position said corral cross-rail is spaced horizontally awayfrom an upright wall of the trailer, and when said at least oneextendable corral rail is retracted said corral cross-rail is positionedadjacent the upright wall; and a drive system operable to move saidextendable corral rails between said extended and retracted positions;wherein said extendable corral rails and said corral cross-rail, in theextended position, cooperate with the upright wall of the trailer todefine a corral area.
 2. The corral system of claim 1, wherein saidextendable corral rails are pivotably extendable.
 3. The corral systemof claim 1, wherein said drive system comprises a powered drive systemincluding at least one electric or fluid powered actuator.
 4. The corralsystem of claim 1, further comprising a securing member movable betweena securing position and a releasing position to selectively secure oneof said extendable corral rails in said retracted configuration.
 5. Thecorral system of claim 4, wherein said corral system comprises an uppercorral rail disposed above one of said extendable corral rails, and saidpivotable securing flap comprises a support for supporting said uppercorral rail when said extendable corral rail is in the extendedposition.
 6. The corral system of claim 4, further comprising a positionsensor configured to sense if said securing member is in a closed or anopen position, such that when said securing flap is in the closedorientation said drive system is deactivated, and when said securingflap is in the open configuration said drive system is activatable. 7.The corral system of claim 1, wherein said distal end portions of saidextendable corral rails are telescopically extendable relative to saidproximal end portions of said extendable corral rails, said corralsystem further comprising a corral rail extension system operable toextend and retract said distal end portions of said extendable corralrails relative to said proximal end portions of said extendable corralrails.
 8. The corral system of claim 1, wherein said corral cross-railis pivotably coupled to said extendable corral rail and configured topivot between a first position substantially perpendicular to saidextendable corral rail, and a second position which said corralcross-rail is set at an obtuse angle relative to said extendable corralrail.
 9. The corral system of claim 8, further comprising a hingelocking system configured to lock said corral cross-rail at each of saidfirst and second positions, said hinge locking system comprising: alocking pin defining an axial bore; a guide channel; a tracking pinreceived in said guide channel; and upper and lower pivot plates;wherein said tracking pin moves along said guide channel as said corralcross rail is pivoted relative to said extendable corral rail to adesired angle, said locking pin passes through a hole in said upperpivot plate, through the axial bore in said tracking pin, and through ahole in said lower pivot plate corresponding to said upper pivot platehole, such that said corral cross rail is locked at one of said firstposition and said second position relative to said extendable corralrail.
 10. The corral system of claim 1, further comprising a support legcoupled to each of said corral cross-rails, wherein said support legsare configured to extend downwardly when said extendable corral railsare in said extended position, and said support legs are configured toextend upwardly when said extendable corral rails are in said retractedposition.
 11. The corral system of claim 1, further in combination withthe trailer.
 12. The corral system and trailer of claim 11, furthercomprising a feed or water trough pivotably coupled to said uprightwall, wherein said feed or water trough is extendable into the corralarea and is retractable into said upright wall.
 13. The corral systemand trailer of claim 11, wherein said trailer defines an interiorlivestock manger comprising at least one stall defined by a trailerfloor surface, a chest wall set at a first oblique angle relative to oneof said upright walls comprising a trailer sidewall, and an interiorsidewall extending rearwardly away from said chest wall, said interiorsidewall set at a second oblique angle relative to said trailersidewall.
 14. The corral system and trailer of claim 13, wherein saidinterior sidewall is substantially perpendicular to said chest wall, andwherein said chest wall cooperates with said trailer sidewall to definea storage space accessible from outside the trailer or from inside theinterior livestock manger.
 15. A transport trailer with deployablecorral system, comprising: a plurality of upright walls and a pair ofwheels supporting said upright walls; a pair of extendable corral railshaving respective proximal end portions coupled to said trailer near oneof said upright walls, and said extendable corral rails having distalend portions, wherein said extendable corral rails are movable betweenan extended position and a retracted position relative to said one ofsaid upright walls; a corral cross-rail coupled to said distal endportion of at least one of said extendable corral rails, wherein whensaid at least one extendable corral rail is in said extended positionsaid corral cross-rail is spaced horizontally away from said one of saidupright walls, and when said at least one extendable corral rail isretracted said corral cross-rail is positioned adjacent said one of saidupright walls; a securing member movable between a securing position anda releasing position to selectively secure one of said extendable corralrails in said retracted configuration; and a drive system operable tomove said extendable corral rails between said extended and retractedpositions; wherein said extendable corral rails and said corralcross-rail, in the extended position, cooperate with said one of saidupright walls to define a corral area.
 16. The corral system and trailerof claim 15, wherein said securing member comprises a flap thatselectively covers a portion of said one of said extendable corral railsin said retracted configuration, and wherein said flap defines a supportopening configured to receive and support a distal end portion of one ofsaid corral cross-rails when said extendable corral rails and said oneof said corral cross-rails are extended.
 17. The corral system andtrailer of claim 16, further comprising a position sensor configured tosense if said securing member is in a closed or an open position, suchthat when said securing flap is in the securing position said drivesystem is deactivated, and when said securing flap is in the openconfiguration said drive system is activatable.
 18. The transporttrailer of claim 15, further comprising a feed or water trough pivotablycoupled to said one of said upright walls, wherein said feed or watertrough is extendable into the corral area and is retractable into saidone of said upright walls.
 19. The transport trailer of claim 15,further comprising a hinge locking system configured to lock said corralcross-rail at either of at least two different angular positionsrelative to said extendable corral rail, said hinge locking systemcomprising: a locking pin defining an axial bore; a guide channel; atracking pin received in said guide channel; and upper and lower pivotplates; wherein said tracking pin moves along said guide channel as saidcorral cross rail is pivoted relative to said extendable corral rail toa desired angle, said locking pin passes through a hole in said upperpivot plate, through the axial bore in said tracking pin, and through ahole in said lower pivot plate corresponding to said upper pivot platehole, such that said corral cross rail is locked at one of said at leasttwo different angular positions.
 20. The transport trailer of claim 19,wherein said trailer defines an interior livestock manger comprising atleast one stall defined by a trailer floor surface, a chest wall set ata first oblique angle relative to one of said upright walls comprising atrailer sidewall, and an interior sidewall extending rearwardly awayfrom said chest wall and set at a second oblique angle relative to saidtrailer sidewall.